The Boy Across The Street
by iloveromance
Summary: Unable to take it anymore, Frankie storms out of the house, leaving Sue to fear that her family is broken forever. A Sue/Sean alternate version of Season 3/Episode 4 "Major Changes".
1. Chapter 1

The Heck house was eerily silent as the four of them stared at the door. Brick, Axl and Sue turned to each other and then glanced at their dad in horror. Their mom had just stormed out of the house after what could only be called a nervous breakdown, leaving them alone and their family broken.

Brick was the first to speak. "Dad, can she do that? She can't just leave like that, can she? What happened?"

"I don't know, Brick!" Sue answered in a trembling voice. "I don't know what happened! All I know is that Mom is _gone_! She's really _gone_!"

"She's not gone!" Mike said. "She's just… not here!"

"That's the same thing!" Sue shrieked.

"Stop!" Her dad held up his hand the way he always did when he was trying to make a point. "Look, your mom's been through… something and so she left so that she can… you know, have some time to sort things out."

Sue couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Sort things out? Like what? What about _us_ , Dad? What about _us_?"

"Just, everybody calm down, okay? She couldn't have gone far. She barley has twenty dollars in her purse and there's not enough gas in the car to get past the state line."

"Dad!"

"Actually it's ten." Brick said. "I took ten dollars from her purse yesterday."

Sue looked at her brother in horror. "You _stole_ from Mom?"

"It wasn't stealing! I was going to put it back, eventually."

"Oh God!"

Axl's outburst made everyone turn and look at him. He was wearing an expression that Sue hadn't seen before and it sacred her. Sue turned to her father. "See Dad, even Axl's worried about Mom!"

"Of course I'm worried! She's got my hat!"

"What?"

"My hat! I think she took it with her when she started stuffing stuff into that stupid bag!"

"Oh my God, don't you understand what's happening here? Mom is GONE!" Sue yelled.

"Look, that hat is legendary, okay? And when I get it back; _if_ I ever get it back, it's going to be all stretched out and-."

"Would you stop thinking about that stupid hat and start thinking about Mom? I don't want to live in a broken home! This is your fault, Axl! This is all your fault! And you!"

She turned to Brick who shrugged. "What did I do?" He asked.

" _You_ drove Mom away, with your whispering and whooping! She just couldn't take it anymore and now she's GONE!"

Brick began to argue and then Axl joined in until the three of them were talking over one another, their voices getting louder and louder.

"ALL RIGHT THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Their father's booming voice startled them to silence and Sue bit her lip to keep from crying.

"Dad-."

"No, I've had it with the three of you, all right? Now I want you all to go to your room! I don't care whose room it is. Just go there and think about what we did as a family to cause this! I'm going to sit and think about it in here. Go on!" He urged, shooing them away when they stood frozen in place.

In Sue's room, the argument over who really drove their mom away resumed and as usual Sue was stuck in the middle. But after a while she couldn't bear it any longer. Obviously having grown bored of her many explanations about why their mother left and what they could do to bring her back, her brothers walked out of the room; Brick mumbling something about a library book and Axl complaining about his stupid hat.

What was wrong with them? Didn't they know how lucky they were to have Frankie Heck for a mother? Sue certainly did and shed never take her mom for granted again. She had to do something. She couldn't just sit in her room in silence. There must be someone….

And then she smiled. Of course! Her dad…

She decided that she'd go and sit with her dad and together they could figure out where her mom went and why she left in the first place. They'd have a heart to heart father and daughter talk. But when she reached the living room, she froze at the sight. Her mouth fell open in complete horror. He was sitting on the couch drinking a beer, watching the highlights of the Colts game on ESPN!

"Oh my God, you don't even care about where mom is, do you Dad?"

He looked up, surprised to see her and scowled. "I thought I told you to go to your room!"

"I did and now I'm here and you're just sitting there, not caring about Mom at all! Well, _I_ care!"

"Go care in your room, all right? I'm trying to watch this!"

But Sue deliberately disobeyed him, knowing full well what the consequences would be. And in her very un-Sue Sue Heck like rebellious mood, she didn't even care.

She stormed out of the house, ignoring the blast of cold air that hit her squarely in the face as she slammed the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

She couldn't think. She just kept right on walking until she reached the familiar house across the street. Tears blurred her eyes and her heart hurt as she stood in front of the door and knocked. She didn't know what she would do if no one was home, but she wasn't about to give up hope. Because Sue Sue Heck _never_ gave up.

She knocked again, and again, waiting and waiting. The longer she stood there, waiting, the more her heart hurt. The pain became so bad that at one point she was afraid she might need medical attention. But thankfully it subsided, for the time being anyway.

The silence around her was deafening, save for the faint sound of barking dogs and the roar of cars in the distance and she didn't know what to do. She tried singing a song that Reverend Tim Tom often sang when things looked hopeless, Even though he was much better at singing spiritual songs than she, it certainly couldn't hurt. She doubted that God really cared if she couldn't carry a tune. When she'd sung the last note, she waited for a response. Again, nothing. Maybe it would have worked better if she'd had a guitar; not that she knew how to play the guitar. Oh why didn't she ever learn to play the guitar?

And then, like a sign from above, it happened.

The unmistakable sound of tires on pavement caused her to whirl around. But this was no ordinary no car coming down the street. It was a very familiar on. It pulled into the driveway and her heart began to pound. It had to be a dream but she was fairly certain that she wasn't dreaming. She whirled around, nearly fainting at the sight. The dream returned and it was a dream that she'd been waiting so desperately to come true.

Sean….

The engine shut off, the car door opened. He was walking toward her, his smile meant for no one else. But she didn't deserve a smile or anything at all. She was Sue Sue Heck from a broken home; a girl who had successfully managed to drive her mother away. And she was afraid that her mother might never come back. Thankfully in the darkness, Sean didn't notice her tears.

"Hey, Susie Q, I didn't expect to see you here!" Sean said. A brisk wind passed by and he rubbed his shoulders. "Man, it's freezing out here! Where's your coat?"

Sue looked down at her pink sweatshirt with the bright multicolored rainbow on the front. It had been a long ago gift from her mother; another gift that she didn't deserve. "Oh, I must have forgotten it."

Suddenly she felt very, very small, like a mouse (or even smaller). She cringed at her reply. What a dumb thing to say. What kind of idiot walks out of their house in the freezing cold without their coat?

But Sean was unfazed by her dorkiness. He quickly removed his light blue and white Hens Letterman jacket and attempted to drape it around her shoulders. It was the most wonderful thing any one had ever done for her and it took all of the strength within her to gently push him away.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't, Sean."

"Can't what?"

"I can't wear your jacket."

"Why not?"

"Because, I don't deserve it! "

"Susie Q-."

"Stop calling me that, all right? I don't deserve cute names or warm jackets or even smiles! I shouldn't even be here, but I couldn't stay at home any longer! I-I didn't have any place to go!"

"Here, just put this on and tell me what this is all about, all right?"

Reluctantly she let him slide the much-too-big jacket around her body and she pushed her arms through the too-long sleeves. "Thanks…"

"Sure, no problem. Now what's going on?"

She began to cry. "I'm a horrible person!"

"What?"

"I'm horrible, Sean!"

"That's ridiculous. How could you even think-Hey… wait a minute. Has Axl been giving you a hard time again?"

"No, I just-."

"Look, Axl's my friend and all, but I'm going to kill him, I swear!"

"Sean, it's not him! It's me!"

"Do you have any idea how many girls have said those exact words to me?" He laughed and she wanted to laugh with him, but she just couldn't do it. Girls who drove their mother away didn't deserve laughter. Instead she cried even harder.

"I mean it, Sean, I 'm a terrible person!"

"No, Sue. You're not! That is absolutely untrue!"

"What kind of person drives their mother away?"

"I don't understand."

"She's gone, Sean, gone! My mom is gone and it's my fault!"

"Wait, what do you mean she's gone?"

When Sue didn't reply right away, Sean's eyes grew wide with horror. "Wait a minute. Y-you don't mean that she's _gone-gone_ like forever gone?"

I don't know Sean! She just left! I yelled at Brick and told him that it was his fault for whispering and whooping. And then I yelled at Axl for caring more about his stupid hat than about Mom! I even yelled at my dad for watching the game when he was supposed to be worrying about Mom!"

"Sue-." When he came closer and put his arm around her, she didn't pull away. But she still didn't feel worthy of his kindness.

"But it's not their fault! It's mine! It's my fault that I live in a broken house with a younger brother and an older brother and a dad but no mom! Everything is broken! My family, my house and even my heart!"

When she began to sob, his expression softened and the next thing she knew, he was holding her in his arms rubbing her back while she cried into his chest. His Hens Letterman jacket was so soft. How had she not noticed it before? What was wrong with her? She couldn't be thinking about how soft his jacket was when her mother was gone! She really was terrible.

The thought made her cry harder. But Sean Donahue didn't let go. He kept right on holding her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey… come on." He said softly. "I'm sure your mom is fine. We'll find her, okay?"

She wanted to believe him; she really did. But she didn't know how to believe him. She lifted her head from his chest and looked at him. "But I have no idea where she went!"

When she was a little calmer, he let go of her. But he didn't do it abruptly, the way her dad often did (without hurting her of course) when he pulled out of hugs. Sean let go of her slowly and carefully, as though trying his best to make sure that she was going to be okay.

"We'll find her." He repeated. But there was something reassuring about the way he said the words this time. She looked at him in surprise. Surely he didn't mean-.

"But how?"

He smiled and took her hand, surprising her again. She couldn't believe that someone like Sean Donahue would actually hold her hand without obligation. "Come on."

Now she was really confused. "Where?"

He started to lead her to his car, but then he stopped suddenly, confusing her. "What is it?"

"Wait. Let me tell my mom that we're leaving and then we can go."

"Go?"

Before he could explain, the front door opened. Nancy Donahue stepped outside, wearing her trademark vest and a long- sleeve shirt. As usual, she had a worried look on her face.

"Sean? I thought that was you! I was-Oh, hi, Sue! I didn't know you were here, too!"

Sue wanted to sink into the ground and then scream at Mrs. Donahue in disbelief. "But-I-I rang the doorbell about twenty-."

"You know what? I can't hear a thing when I'm vacuuming. But since you're here, can you do me a favor?"

"Um, sure, I guess…"

"Tell your mom that I haven't forgotten about the bag of sugar that I owe her. I'm ashamed to say that it's been much too long since I borrowed it in the first place, but…."

Nancy kept right on talking, but Sue, at the mention (and the memory) of her mother, began to sob, even harder than before. And once again, Sean instantly went to her side to comfort her.

Nancy watched the scene with a confused (and somewhat horrified) expression. "Oh Sue, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. Tell your mom… Well, don't tell her anything. I'll come over tomorrow and bring her the sugar back. Actually, I'll go out right now and buy a bag. I'll buy ten bags! I'll-."

"Mom-."

"What? Sean, I'm just trying to be a good neighbor!"

"I know Mom. And _you_ are a good neighbor. You've _always_ been a good neighbor. But-."

"What's wrong?"

"Sean? Sue?"

Sean looked at Sue who was still crying in his arms and he rubbed her back to comfort her. They both knew that Nancy Donahue wasn't going to back down until she found out what was going on.

Sean sighed. "Mom, Mrs. Heck is gone."

Nancy's hand went to her heart and she looked as though she might faint. "Oh my God…"

"Mom-."

"When I saw Frankie in the front yard the other day I thought she looked kind of pale, but I didn't want to say anything. Oh, now I wish I had. I just assumed that it was the stress but-Oh my God, are your brothers all right? What about your dad?."

"Mom, she's not _gone_ gone!" Sean explained.

"She's not?"

"No, she's just… gone."

Somehow, Nancy figured out what he meant and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God."

"Sue and I are going to find her." Sean said.

Sue looked at him in disbelief. "Really?"

"Really. I promise. And we won't stop looking until we do!"

Sue was so overcome with emotion that she practically jumped into Sean's arms and gave him a huge hug. "Thank you, Sean. Thank you so much."

He held her close, even closer than he'd held her before; and she loved it more than she thought possible.

"Don't worry Sue. We'll find her. Everything will be all right."

And somehow, she was beginning to believe it.


End file.
